×

Homes for the Aged testing expanded

MARQUETTE — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which urges Homes for the Aged program to conduct regular testing for COVID-19, announced an expansion of state assistance and reimbursement to support more testing in these facilities.

HFAs provide room, board and supervised personal care to 21 or more individuals ages 55 or older. Due to the significant risk of outbreaks in long-term care facilities and the higher likelihood of severe health outcomes caused by COVID-19 among the elderly, it is imperative that HFAs provide routine testing to identify infections quickly and contain spread, according to the State Emergency Operations Center.

As of Sept. 10, 45 ongoing outbreaks and four new outbreaks had been reported at long-term care facilities across Michigan, including nursing homes, HFAs, assisted living and adult day care.

“COVID-19 presents acute risks to older adults, especially in congregate care settings. Robust testing is vital to protect these facilities, and the residents and staff from outbreaks,” said Robert Gordon, director of MDHHS, in a statement. “We encourage all Homes for the Aged to start testing programs to protect residents as quickly as possible if they haven’t already; the state stands ready to help with testing resources and funding.”

MDHHS recommends HFAs in regions of medium risk or higher on the MI Safe Start Map test all residents and staff in these ways:

≤ one-time baseline testing of all residents and staff;

≤ weekly testing, until all staff and residents are negative for 14 days since the last positive test;

≤ at the time of admission for new residents;

≤ before new staff members start work;

≤ when having COVID symptoms; and

≤ after close contact with a COVID-positive individual (within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more).

To help implement these recommendations and encourage more testing in HFAs, MDHHS is providing expanded testing assistance and reimbursement.

HFAs that conduct COVID-19 testing for residents or staff will be eligible for reimbursement of laboratory costs not covered by insurance or by other types of state assistance.

Facilities can alternatively seek state assistance to conduct testing. The state can provide medical staff, supplies and/or laboratory processing, depending on the needs of the facility. HFAs with a medical provider who can order a test should complete the state’s testing request template and submit it to MDHHS at MDHHS-LTCRequests@michigan.gov. HFAs without a medical provider to order the test should contact their local health department to request testing assistance.

Bank donates lanyards

TruNorth Federal Credit Union, a local nonprofit financial institution, has donated 1,000 lanyards to NICE Community Schools. The students will clip their masks to the lanyards to make it easier to keep masks near and off commonly used surfaces.

“Many students don’t have pockets to put their masks in during times such as snack, lunch, recess or even just a mask break,” Aspen Ridge Elementary School Principal Chris Marana said in a news release. “These lanyards will be a convenient way for them to keep track of their mask without setting it on surfaces such as desks.”

The students, she said, are doing an “awesome job.”

“The staff has done a nice job of teaching the expectations,” Marana said. “This is new to all of us, so we’ll continue to reteach the expectations while providing positive support to our students.”

The lanyards will be given to students throughout the NICE district.

“We were excited to donate the lanyards and help out another local school district,” TruNorth President and CEO Steve Smith said in a news release. “We understand that COVID-19 has greatly impacted schools and top priorities for TruNorth include keeping our local communities and schools safe and healthy.”

Evergreen Award ceremony off

The Evergreen Award Steering Committee announced the cancellation of the luncheon for the Evergreen Award of Marquette County, which was scheduled for Oct. 19.

Due to current restrictions with the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the health and safety of those in attendance, the committee decided to postpone this year’s festivities to Oct. 18. 2021.

No winner will be named this year.

The luncheon planned to honor the 2019 recipient, Cindy Nyquist, R.N., and announce this year’s recipient. Additionally, the recipient of this year’s Evergreen Scholarship would have been honored.

The Evergreen Award honors individuals who are dedicated to supporting and mentoring women and girls and helping them to reach their leadership potential.

NMU COVID numbers released

The latest numbers regarding COVID-19 positive cases at Northern Michigan University as of Wednesday afternoon, shown on the NMU Safe on Campus dashboard at https://nmu.edu/safe-on-campus/, indicated there have been 49 positive cases since July 17.

A total of 24 on-campus students have tested positive, with 20 off-campus students and five employees testing positive.

Also as of Wednesday afternoon, there are three active positive cases: two off-campus students and an employee.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today